chicken in peanut sauce $6.70 recipe / $1.68 serving

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chicken in peanut sauce

$6.70 recipe / $1.68 serving

2013 is going to be GREAT, I can feel it!

This is the first recipe of the year and I already know that it's going to go on next year's "best of" list! It's SO good and SO easy. Peanut and coconut combine to make an incredibly luxurious and creamy sauce for the chicken, which is then sassed up with just a little soy sauce, brown sugar, lime, and sriracha! If you don't have sriracha, you can just add a pinch of red pepper flakes... or just leave it out for a mild version.

Of course this "luxurious" sauce is a little high on the fat content, so make sure to serve this up with a side of some yummy vegetables, like this Crunchy Asian Salad. And, if you can find it, serve it over brown jasmine rice for some added fiber.

Enjoy and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chicken in Peanut Sauce

Total Recipe cost: $6.70
Servings Per Recipe: 4 (1 cup rice, 3/4 cup chicken with sauce)
Cost per serving: $1.68
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 25 min. Total: 30 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 cloves	garlic	$0.16
2 inches	fresh ginger	$0.14
1 Tbsp	vegetable oil	$0.08
1 lb.	chicken breast*	$1.99
1 (14 oz.) can	coconut milk	$2.14
1/2 cup	natural peanut butter	$0.66
1 Tbsp	soy sauce	$0.10
1 Tbsp	brown sugar	$0.02
1/2 teaspoon	sriracha hot sauce (optional)	$0.02
1 medium	lime	$0.50
1/4 bunch	cilantro (optional)	$0.20
4 cups	cooked jasmine rice	$0.69
TOTAL		$6.70

*I buy my chicken breast in bulk/on sale to get a low price and freeze it for later use.

STEP 1: If you don't have cooked jasmine rice on hand, begin cooking your rice first so it will be ready by the time the chicken and sauce are complete. To begin the sauce, mince the garlic and then peel and grate the ginger into a large skillet or pot. Saute both in the vegetable oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until they are soft and fragrant.

STEP 2: Cut the chicken into small pieces (about one inch across). Add them to your skillet or pot. Saute until lightly browned and cooked through (about 10 minutes).

STEP 3: Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the coconut milk and peanut butter. Stir gently to combine the two and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Once the sauce is relatively smooth, add the soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, and juice from half of the lime. Stir to combine and heat through (about ten minutes).

STEP 4: Pull the cilantro leaves from their stems and roughly chop. Scoop about one cup of jasmine rice into the bottom of each bowl and then top with the chicken and sauce (about 3/4 cup). Sprinkle the fresh cilantro over top and enjoy!

Step By Step Photos

Start by mincing the garlic and grating the ginger (peel the ginger with a vegetable peeler or scrape the skin off with the side of a spoon). Saute both in vegetable oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until soft and fragrant.


Cut the chicken into small pieces, about one inch across each.


Add the chicken to the pot/skillet and saute until cooked through (about 10 minutes). It's okay if stuff sticks to the bottom of the pan because it will dissolve off into the sauce, just don't let it go past "brown" to "burned." If it looks like it might start burning, go ahead and move on to the next step, but be sure to let the chicken simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes or so to make sure it is cooked through.


Next, add the coconut milk and peanut butter.


Gently stir (to minimize splashing) the two together until they are smooth and all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan have also dissolved in.


Now it's time to add a little pizazz! We're touching all of the flavor bases here with the soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, and lime juice. You can start with juice from half of the lime and add more if you'd like. If you don't have sriracha, add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat.


Stir all of those flavor ingredients in and your sauce is finished! You can either serve it immediately, or let the chicken simmer for a while in the sauce to make it more tender (that's what I like to do).


Serve with cooked jasmine rice and a sprinkle of fresh, chopped cilantro. INCREDIBLE.